Beautiful No-Mow Yards is just what American gardeners need. And you can win it right here

In the last year or so, we're hearing that there are better uses for our land than turfgrass, that unless it's needed for sport or play, you can save on resources and probably your labor, too, by switching to an array of alternatives - meadows, vegetable gardens, native grasse, and so on. 

All good!  Well, mostly good - because that well-intentioned advice isn't easy to actually implement, without a LOT more information.  Which groundcovers? Which native grasses - and native to where, anyway?  How much do the alternatives cost, can they be walked on, and how much work does it really take to maintain them?

My mixed reviews of much of the lawn-free cheering has me wildly cheering the thoroughly researched and honestly reported definitive book about reducing or eliminating lawns by Evelyn Hadden.  Beautiful No-Mow Yards contains exactly the kind of info that's needed, and its gorgeous photographs (most by Evelyn and the wonderful Saxon Holt, too) are deeply inspirational to anyone looking to make their yards more interesting, more beautiful, and more wildlife-friendly.

Meet Evelyn

Readers of GardenRant are no strangers to this subject (see the many stories in our Lawn Reform category), but may not be familiar with the author.  Well, Evelyn is THE original lawn reformer, having written Shrink Your Lawn and created the Less Lawn website back in 2001.  She's a pioneer whose cause has caught on.

What's in Beautiful No-Mow Yards

• Photos and stories about gardens sunny and shady, flat and hilly, a "shockingly simple meadow garden", a "patio for pennies", rain gardens, edibles, ponds, terraces, hellstrips and more.
• "Smarter lawns" using fine fescue mixes, carexes, and other low-resource grass types, including where each type works best and what it takes to install and maintain them.
• Real gardeners and the truth about their attempts to replace their lawns, failures and all. 
• How-to chapters for killing the lawn, designing alternatives, and maintaining them.
• An illustrated guide to groundcovers by type.

Here's Evelyn's quick video introduction to the book.

Just one more photo from the book for now (more coming this afternoon, I hope), and a confession.  That's my garden on the cover!  And in the photo on the left, both by Saxon Holt.  (Though I suppose I should start saying "former garden," since I sold it three weeks ago. Sigh.)

Plus, I wrote the foreward, happy to help in any way I could because this book is soooo needed. 

So I feel like the proud aunt to Evelyn's baby. Her beautiful, superbly written baby.  Great job!

WIN THIS BOOK
Just leave a comment about lawns or alternatives thereto, and I'll choose one at random.  Entries close Friday at midnight Eastern.

Comments

[Nancy]

I volunteer w/ my county extension office and am trying to develope a program for the public about this very subject. Our area is drought AND flood prone and growing grass is frustrating for everyone. This is a resource that would be very valuable in educating the public that there ARE alternatives out there!

[Jennifer]

Count me in! I would love to add this book to my collection. We're slowly dwindling down the amount of lawn on our property and could use new ideas!

[John]

Any advice in the book on how to kill the lawn while not harming newly planted trees?

[Jessika]

Oh, our backyard. The previous owners removed all the plants and put in sod. Our backyard consists of tiered slopes, with each tier being about 10-20' wide and 60' long, with either a wall or a slope in between them. SO MUCH SOD. What's even better is that the sod was put in the backyard in March, we closed in May. So this winter is the first winter with the sod... the slimy, mucky, NO DRAINAGE, no planning sod. We're slowly tearing it out and replacing it with better landscaping.

[Elsa]

I need a book like this! My lawn looks awful with all the dry shade and roots, and I hate mowing. The grass doesn't come up with all the maple roots, either. Help!

[Linda Secrist]

I have slowly been reducing my lawn and replacing it with natives and fruit shrubs and vines[ mainly natives]

[Michele R.]

I've eliminated both front and back lawns and could use the book to fill in some of the new space I have!

[Julie]

I would love this book. My issue with removing lawn will be staying within the boundaries of my various HOA rules... This book would be an amazing resource. Thanks for the opportunity!

[Ellen]

I just bought a 50 lb bag of fine fescue to plant on a steep hillside in Wisconsin... I could sure use some help as I have no idea how I am going to kill the crown vetch that is strangling it now.

[MicheleF]

I would love this book! My husband and tried to and were somewhat successful at our first attempt in the back yard. Now it's time to focus on the front yard which is almost all grass!

[MTD]

My motto regarding the lawn is to kill it. growing something else is the way to go.

[donna]

I have the opposite problem from Kate. Replaced front lawn with native plants and hardscaping, and some in the back with a patio and meditation garden, but left some lawn in the back for the dogs. But the grass is not doing so well and I need different options like carex but something that will still hold up to the dogs.

[Gerry]

I have lived at our home 35 years next month, The past 2 years have decided to take steps back into gardening, one HUGE step after another. About a month ago I found gardenrant.com and it has become a daily read for me and ALWAYS brings a smile to my face, espically living in Michigan during winter months (not that we could say we have had much of the usual winter weather). THANK YOU!!!! Gerry

[Liz]

Lawn seems to be the easy answer for landscaping, which is why it so prevalent. This book looks great.

[Niko]

I'm in the early stages of replacing mine with an olive grove and native grasses underneath.

[Susan in the Pink Hat]

I'm game for a giveaway book, as always. It's good to see what folk are doing elsewhere.

[ElusiveThread]

I think this will be a brilliant book for when I get my house and land, simply so I can replace the grass with things that my dairy cow and chickens will eat.

Any idea if it'll become available on Kindle?

[Laura Bell]

Would love to lose the high-maintenance lawn (and I'm not even the maintain-er !) but hubby is heck-bent on keeping it so we look like the rest of our suburban neighbors. Sigh. Maybe I should slip this book into his reading pile & let him "come up with the idea" to go turf-less on his own.

[Katherine Adams]

Oh, I've had this book on my wishlist for a while! The husband and I were just talking about lawn alternatives today. What great timing!

[Crafty Cristy]

We just moved into our home last year. I am slowly taking out grass and installing my gardens. My husband said I could have the entire area of (currently) yard between the sidewalk and the house. I would love to have beautiful vegetables there, but need more info. Thanks for offering this.

[monica]

I'd love this book. I have plans... PLANS! for our gravel-covered front lawn.

[Teri]

When we moved into our new house 4 years ago it had no lawn or landscaping done at all. Not having the money after putting the life savings on a down payment, we opted to seed sheep's fescue (a thin fescue recommended by local gardening gurus) for $20 to keep the mud under control. It was the best choice we ever made. I mow it once a year(?) only if the seed heads look a little shaggy. But its not doing supper in the hottest part of the yard, so I need to come up with an alternative to over seed that area. I'm thinking clover but would love a resource like this book to see what else there is!

[Cindy]

I'd love to learn more about this! Less mowing (maybe someday no mowing!!) = more time playing and lounging in the yard!

[marthaeliza]

This is the book I need to reclaim the yard in front of my house! Please enter me...

[Eileen]

This book will jump to the top of my "must have" list if it includes information for the Northwest gardener. So many things that are recommended in other books just don't work well here.